Everything I know I learned on the DIS...

[dd53]

So I have only been to WDW one time in my entire life. It was a 5 day free dining trip in August 2009 and although I read up a little before, I was totally unprepared for all of the wonderful things to do and experience and eat! I have read the DIS boards over the past few years and now we are a little more that a month out from our trip of a lifetime!

When we visited in 2009, it was myself, hubby, and four children (ages at the time were 14, 11, 9, and 9). This time it will be myself, hubby, and our EIGHT forever children for 9 nights/10 days! We are celebrating the adoption of our 5 youngest children on this trip and want to maximize our fun!!! We also want to recognize that our children can't always handle too much at one time and want to pace ourselves. I have put together a basic plan and I welcome feedback, suggestions, tips and secrets to making this trip the best ever as I am pretty sure we won't be able to afford another trip anytime soon!


WHO? Myself, DH, Grumpy Teen (15-boy), Mama's Helper (13-girl), Little Professor (13-boy), Moody Miss (9-girl), Drama Queen (8-girl), Smarty Pants (8-boy), Prince Charming (6-boy) and Princess Munchkin (4-girl)

WHEN? June 18-27, 2013

WHERE? We are planning a split stay. June 18-23 at POR in two standard rooms. June 23-27 at Beach Club in two garden view rooms. (We figure the kids will be park crazy the first few days and then the second half of our vacation we can maximize pool and relaxation time!)

WHAT? 8 day base tickets and one annual pass + TIW

HOW? Flying and using Magical Express and Disney transportation. No rental car for us!!!

That's the basics. After I feed the troops, I'll get started with our daily plans.

 

[hodgesda1]

You and your husband are beyond brave for attempting Disney with that many people. I fist think it is awesome that you are able to adopt so many kids. My wife and I have discussed adoption for a couple years since our kids are getting a little older (16 and 12), but it is scary and a life changing experience. Not something you can take lightly.

I like your idea of letting Disney transport you from MCO to the resort and then you have the Disney busses to get around. There is no reason to leave property. I love doing that.

What I have found in my numerous trips to WDW is that, as you said, the kids will go nuts for the parks for a couple days and then be so worn out they will just want to hang out by the pool and wander the resort. I only have two kids and that is what happens with them. We will be heading to WDW next week, but staying off property to save some $$$. I have a feeling we may regret not staying on property.

One of the best places I have found to relax at a park was in Dinoland. The younger kids can go dig for fossils and the older ones can run off and ride something all while the parents sit in the shade and wonder what they were thinking. In the end it is all worth it. I plan to visit WDW as often as possible until I die.

I have subscribed to your PTR and look forward to following your family on this journey.

Here is the link to my PTR I started yesterday if you are interested.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=48375256

Dave

 

[happybelle]

Joining in.

 

[dd53]

Okay....so Day 1. Arrival Day.

Our flight is scheduled to land in Orlando at 8:10 am. We figure a couple of hours to take the Magical Express to Port Orleans and get checked in. Once we are checked in and have our tickets in hand, we are off to Hollywood Studios!

Hollywood Studios was our older childrens' favorite park when we were at Disney the first time so we thought we'd start there. We have no ADRs for this day--just exploring and fun. We will probably grab lunch at HS (I'm guessing Toy Story Pizza Planet since Little Professor is already talking about getting a gluten free pizza there!) and hit whatever rides and shows the kids want to do until late afternoon. The plan then is to head back to POR and grab some dinner and maybe a quick dip in the pool. We will have had an early morning so we will be headed to bed at a reasonable time because we are planning Rope Drop and early days for the first half of our trip!

And a little background about staying on site...
Reason 1--Since Little Professor has celiac and must eat gluten free and Prince Charming has some food intolerances as well, eating at Disney is part of the magic of our trip. We don't eat out often at home and when we do it hard to find a place that can accommodate all of the food issues and that everyone likes! (Not to mention Mom and Dad get a break from cooking for 10!)
Reason 2--We have many special needs in our family including one child on the autism spectrum and several with issues surrounding early trauma in their lives. None of them do well with transition. Getting in the car after going to the playground on a nice day can sometimes trigger the worst behavior. I can't imagine piling them into a van and (gasp) leaving Disney each and every day! By staying on site and riding the buses, we are hoping to save the leaving melt downs for when we really are leaving. (Bless the Magical Express driver that takes us back to the airport!)
Reason 3--Have you priced a rental full size van??? Ouch!
I could go on but you get the drift....

 

[dd53]

Day two we plan to introduce the kids to the Magic of Disney--Magic Kingdom rope drop style!

We are completely open to touring suggestions here!!!! ***HINT, HINT***Feel free to share some tips! We are planning 3 days at MK this trip so we don't have to squeeze it all into one day!

Other the the fact that we are headed to MK and plan on being there for RD, our day is open. We do have dinner ADRs at O'Hana (Our favorite meal last time though I hear they changed the salad dressing and I might cry. I dream about that salad dressing!) at 5:20 pm. At least they still have the bread pudding, right?


36 days!!!!